Circuit Attorney News & Updates

Known Gang Member Heading to Prison for Armed Robbery

March 26, 2014

Known gang member Christopher Ransfer had all kinds of nasty things to say about the neighborhood he was terrorizing. On Facebook, he blatantly boasted about all the violence he planned. He verbally attacked police and his own community. He threw up gang signs and posed with dangerous weapons.

Ransfer is no stranger to the law; his first brush was when he was just 13 years old. But now, it’s come to an end, as Wednesday, Assistant Circuit Attorney Mahrya Fulfer ensured he was put away for 18 years.

In January 2012, a man was walking near Gravois Park when Ransfer flashed a gun and demanded the victim’s wallet. But the man got a good look at him and identified Ransfer as his attacker in both photo and in-person line-ups. Throughout his trial by jury, Ransfer continued to show distaste and disregard for others. On February 19, 2014 a jury found him guilty of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.

“This defendant decided less than $40 was worth more than a human’s life,” ACA Fulfer said during Wednesday’s sentencing.

Judge John Garvey handed down a sentence of 18 years for the armed robbery. State law requires Ransfer to serve at least 85% of that time.

Residents of the Gravois Park neighborhood expressed relief over the decision. Close to a dozen neighbors and members of the Gravois Park Neighborhood Association attended the sentencing.

Though no shots were fired in the case, neighbors were worried it could have been much worse.

“Where he held up that guy is Gravois Park, where our kids go to play, where people go to relax, a stray bullet could have hit somebody; it could have been a murder,” said Rita Ford, President of the Gravois Park Neighborhood Association.

That group has been fighting tirelessly to make their neighborhood a safe and supportive place to live, work and play. ACA Fulfer credited the Gravois Park neighborhood as well as SLMPD officers, including Detective Leonard Blansitt and Officer Ryan Gibbons for helping the case to this outcome.

“It represents a success for the neighborhood because they continue to build on a community that is, in itself, great but has some of these problems around the edges because some people there think they can continue to victimize,” said St. Louis Alderman Craig Schmid.

For more information on the Gravois Park Neighborhood Association, click here.